Indorama Ventures to acquire Artlant PTA in Portugal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global chemical producer, will acquire the assets of Artlant PTA, S.A.’s (Artlant), including all equipment, surface rights and employment contracts. Artlant, a Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) plant in the Sines Industrial Complex in Portugal is a large PTA producer in Europe with a production capacity of 700,000 tonnes per annum adding substantial scale and enhancing IVL's PTA leadership in Europe, as per the company's press release.

IVL will also acquire the assets of adjacent utilities provider, Artelia Ambiente, S.A. (Artelia), which has a capacity of 40.390 MW of electricity, steam, demineralized water, wastewater treatment and hydrogen. This acquisition will benefit the company by securing energy supply to Artlant and sell excess power to the grid.

PTA is used as raw material for PET (Polyester) production. With the Company’s plan to grow its core businesses in the future, this feedstock security will be a solid basis for portfolio expansion. IVL expects to reduce cost and increase operational synergies via internal supply of feedstock and replace imports in Europe.

Mr. Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures, said, "Artlant fortifies our core PTA business and is a part of our successful vertical integration strategy. We can apply our scale and operational expertise while taking advantage of cost synergies and capture the opportunity for future growth and expansion."

"We are confident that Artlant will drive the growth of the polyester business both in Portugal and the rest of Europe. It will support employment opportunities in the region, and help economic growth. I look forward to closing the deal in the fourth quarter of 2017," Mr. Lohia concluded.

As MRC informed before, in October 2017, IVL entered into an agreement to acquire DuPont Teijin Films (DTF), a leading global producer of Biaxially-oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate (BOPET) and Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN) films with total film/polymer capacity of 277,000 tonnes per annum. The DTF acquisition includes 8 production assets in the US, Europe and China, with a global innovation center in the UK. The transaction is expected to be completed during late 2017 or early 2018, subject to the usual regulatory approvals.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, listed in Thailand, is one of the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, with a global manufacturing footprint across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The company’s portfolio comprises Necessities and High Value-Added (HVA) categories of Polymers, Fibers, and Packaging, selectively integrated with self-manufactured Ethylene Oxide/Glycols and PTA where economical. IVL products serve major FMCG and Automotive sectors, i.e. Beverages, Hygiene, Personal Care, Tire and Safety segments. IVL has approx. 15,000 employees worldwide and consolidated revenue of USD7.2 billion in 2016.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The November contract price of ethylene was settled at the level of October in Europe. However, European polyethylene (PE) producers reduced their export PE prices by up to EUR60/tonne for November shipments to the CIS countries, as per ICIS-MRC's Price report.

Negotiations over November prices of European PE to be shipped to the CIS markets began at the end of last week. Many negotiators said most European producers had reduced their export PE prices, despite the stability of monomer prices. Only in some casese, producers rolled over October prices.

Deals for November shipments of high density polyethylene (HDPE) were discussed in the range EUR940-1,050/tonne FCA, whereas October deals were done in the range of EUR1,000-1,100/tonne FCA. It should be noted that some producers significantly reduced their prices for stocks back in the second half of October, prices reached EUR930-980 per tonne, FCA.

Deals for black PE 100 were done in the range of EUR1,250-1,270/tonne FCA, which virtually corresponded to October prices.

Deals for November shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) were negotiated in the range of EUR1,070-1,180/tonne FCA, whereas last month's deals were done in the range of EUR1,130-1,180/tonne FCA.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CB&I’s LA MEG-1 project achieved a major construction milestone with the erection of a 350-ft wash tower, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A PTC-200 ringer crane with a capacity of 3,200 mt was used to set the wash tower, which is one of the largest cranes in the world in terms of capacity and reach. Even more noteworthy, is that the tower was set two weeks ahead of schedule.

The MEG-1 project was awarded to CB&I in December 2015 by Lotte Chemical Louisiana L.L.C., a subsidiary of Lotte Chemical U.S.A. and Lotte Chemical headquartered in Seoul, Korea.

The wash tower is an integral part of converting ethylene oxide into ethylene glycol. The ethylene glycol produced will be used as a feedstock to produce polymers for the plastics and clothing industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC has announced the official start of the main construction phase of its major petrochemicals complex in Pennsylvania, USA, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This follows the successful completion of the site preparation and detailed design and engineering work. The final investment decision was taken in June 2016, with commercial production expected to begin early next decade.

The early works program has been a significant project. Work included building bridges, relocating a state highway, improving existing interchanges, repositioning a rail line, and preparing foundations for the new complex. The site is now ready for the main construction to start.

Shell will now progress to the construction of four processing units - an ethane cracker and three polyethylene (PE)units. The ethane cracker will be the largest part of the facility with more than 200 major components and 95 mi of pipe.

Shell will also construct a 900-ft long cooling tower, rail and truck loading facilities, a water treatment plant, an office building and a laboratory.

The site will include a 250-MW natural gas-fired power plant, which will produce electricity and steam for the facility. About a third of the electricity produced will help supply the local electricity grid.

The petrochemicals complex will use ethane from shale-gas producers in the Marcellus and Utica basins to produce 1.6 MMt of PE per year. Polyethylene is used to make many products, from food packaging and sports equipment to furniture.

The project will help bring economic growth and jobs to the region, with up to 6,000 construction workers involved in building the facility. Shell expects to create around 600 permanent employee positions when the complex is completed.

As MRC informed before, in late June 2015, Shell Chemical received the air emissions permit for its proposed ethane cracker in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The proposed USD4 billion ethane cracker would be the first of its kind in the US Northeast. The cracker, expected to be completed in 2019, would feed production of 1.5 million mt/year of ethylene, 500,000 mt/year of gas-phased high density polyethylene, 500,000 mt/year of slurry HDPE, and 500,000 mt/year of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE).

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC